Congress plans major reshuffle, appointing new state chiefs in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu soon.
NEW DELHI: Even as Congress is carrying out Sangathan Srijan, focusing on massive reshuffling across the country within the organisation, sources said that in the coming days, the grand old party will get new state unit chiefs in several states, including Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
During its extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting — the party’s highest decision-making body — held in Belagavi, Karnataka, in December last year, Congress had decided to carry out a massive reshuffling.
The party had already signalled its intentions with several appointments earlier this year and by appointing observers in Gujarat, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh.
The source said that in Haryana, where the party is yet to decide on the CLP even eight months after last year’s Assembly polls, the new state unit chief will soon be announced.
Uday Bhan has been leading the party for several years and led the grand old party into last year’s assembly polls, where it failed to wrest power from the BJP.
However, in the Lok Sabha elections, the party performed well, winning five out of the 10 seats in the state.
The source said the party leadership has decided to adopt a new formula for Haryana, focusing on OBC and Jat communities, instead of the decade-old Jat and Dalit formula.
Several leaders are said to be in the race for the state unit chief post as well as the CLP leadership.
Among the OBC leaders considered is Chandrabhushan, a former IAS officer who defeated Kuldeep Bishnoi’s son, Bhavya Bishnoi. Other names under consideration include Nirmal Singh, Kuldeep Vats, among others.
The source added that if former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has a say in the CLP decision, the state unit chief might be the leadership’s choice.
The party is also working on replacing the Himachal Pradesh unit chief. Pratibha Singh, wife of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, currently holds the position, but the party is now looking for a fresh face to lead in the state.
A similar situation exists in Tamil Nadu, where the party plans to appoint a new chief ahead of next year’s Assembly polls.
The source also highlighted that the party leadership is focusing on changing both the in charge and state unit chief in Uttar Pradesh.
The source claimed the party is looking for an OBC face for the replacement, although many party leaders have remained tight-lipped about the developments in Uttar Pradesh.
